Nick Batty, 49, from Alton, Hants, said he has been left homeless after piling every penny he had into the endeavour

By Tom Michael

20th November 2017, 2:47 pm

Updated: 20th November 2017, 2:47 pm

A BRIT sailor has been left homeless after his yacht sunk off the coast of Australia during a “shoestring” £5,000 round the world voyage.

Nick Batty was rescued 1,300 miles off the coast of Perth, Western Australia, on Thursday after his boat, Talent, capsized and its mast snapped off in treacherous weather.

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Nick Batty is pictured in Perth, Western Australia, today after his rescue

The 49-year-old – who had sunk “every penny he had” into the trip – was stranded in the Indian Ocean for 15 hours before being rescued by a US merchant ship.

Nick – who has lost everything as he had no insurance for the vessel, which he also lived aboard – now plans to give up cross-ocean sailing for good – and buy a dog instead.

Nick, who is originally from Alton, Hants, said: "I spent £5,000 in total over the winter preparing for the voyage and £1,000 of that was on my food.

"That was all the money I had in the world. I lived on that boat, so it was everything I had in the world."

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Nick is pictured in Falmouth, Cornwall, this July on board his boat

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Nick, 49, is pictured at the helm of his boat Talent in 2013, from Falmouth, Cornwall

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Nick is pictured fishing on board his boat Talent in 2013

He added: "I lost the boat but I gained yet another story."

Nick, who had worked as a yacht delivery skipper taking boats across the sea for 20 years, was undertaking his 31st ocean crossing.

He set off from his hometown of Falmouth, Cornwall, on July 8 and was 132 days into the voyage, which he hoped would take about 300 days in total.

He had sailed underneath the Cape of Good Hope and was making his way across the Indian Ocean towards New Zealand when he ran into difficulties.

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Nicks boat, pictured, capsized in rough weather off the coast of Australia

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Nick is pictured on board his boat Talent in 2013

Luckily when strong waves violently capsized his vessel he was below deck – as he said if he had been above deck he would definitely have been flung overboard.

Nick, who does not have kids or a partner, said: "I was sailing along quite comfortably, eating my dinner and playing a game on my iPad below deck, when I heard a massive bang and the boat was flung violently onto its side.

"That didn't worry me because I have been knocked over lots of times, but then straight away there was another big bang and the mast snapped off.